Illustration by Ana Hinojosa.

Confession time, Rooks. Back in middle school, I got into this habit of not only fantasizing about my future with my crush, but also imagining what our past lives were like. This all happened because I was consulting some spirits on the Ouija Board about my crush and somehow became convinced (or maybe the spirits told me) that I was speaking to my past-life self and 8th grade crush. We’d been hippies (not coincidentally from the time period I was obsessed with at the time) who got to go to Woodstock and everything, but then were killed in a van accident. I never did tell my crush about this of course (and I also never told him that I had a crush on him. I was very shy.)

Fast-forward to my screwed-up relationship when I was eighteen when I became convinced that my dude and I had long been doomed to be kept apart. I had (drug and alcohol-induced) “visions” about drowning in a lake after expressing my unrequited love in the 19th century and also something about 1920s New Orleans. I wrote (admittedly bad because of aforementioned substance abuse) short stories based on these scenarios.

Now it is your turn to try out my quirky little habit! Take your crush or some other person in your life that would be fun to think about being connected to in the past–a best friend, sibling, even a nemesis! Pick a time period that calls to you or that you really do think you many have lived in and visualize what happened to you. Turn it into a story, poem, drawing, comic, or other work of art. Please note that it speaks to my own dramatic flair that all of my past-life imaginings ended tragically, but yours totally don’t have to! I also do not encourage substance use or abuse to bring about your visions and I hope that you are coming from a happier place in general as you imagine them (though if not, I hope this is cathartic for you as it was for me).

Send your writing or art along with your first name, last initial, age, and city/state to [email protected] with the subject line “Creative Prompt” by Wednesday, June 27 at 6 PM EST. We look forward to traveling in time with you and that special someone.

Last month, we asked you to capture childhood moments. Here’s what you shared…